Millions of kilometres of protected marine parks covering vast tracts of ocean may not be enough to save some of the world’s migrating sea life.

Unique research by an international team from Deakin University’s Centre for Integrative Ecology (CIE), Swansea University (UK) and the Seychelles used satellite tracking to monitor tagged green turtles.

They found that the turtles move in and out of enormous protected marine conservation zones, exposing them to danger as they migrate from their breeding grounds to forage for food. The findings indicate that even the largest Marine Protection Areas (MPAs), some covering hundreds of thousands of square kilometres of sea, may need to be buttressed with smaller networks of protected areas, according to Deakin University Chair of Marine Science Professor Graeme Hays.